The Nightmare Calls
by G. Sun
Summary: While Don tries to get Seth to reveal Mia's location to him, Mia's true memories of what she's been through are being suppressed by her former best friend Seth. Will our hero submit herself to Seth once more or will she be brought back to the nightmare that's her life? Read after A DREAM AWAY.
1. Chapter 1

**I've waited forever for this cute story, aaaah hope you guys will enjoy the last individual Mia story.**

"And how did I get your attention?" I ask coyly. Does that mean that he's been following me and Mia around? I should have realized it those few times I felt we were being watched. What was he going to get out of us by stalking us? Seth crosses his arms and says,"When I was on the brink of death after Mia defeated me, I opened my eyes for a second to see you following her. Ever since then I've had my friend here watch the two of you." I glare at the girl who finally stopped her hacking fit and is protectively clinging onto Seth's arms, frowning at me. "She's one of the few people of the Darkness who can enter your world for a short span of time despite your world's shield. She told me everything that was going on."

"What's your business with me?"

"Xevia go back to the dungeon," he says softly to the girl in black. She clings to his arm tighter as she says, "Seth, I don't want to see you hurt."

"You won't," assures Seth, his hand suddenly aflame with a violet-colored flame. With the swing of his hand, a fireball flies at me and I get down on the floor to avoid it. Seth sends two more of them at me and I push myself off the floor to dodge the first one and then I punch the second one. On impact it explodes, leaving me clouded in smog for a few seconds and then I hear a door close. When the horrid-smelling smoke clears, it's just him and I left in the chamber together. There are some burn marks on my right hand but they'll fade in a few minutes.

"So you're keeping Mia in a dungeon? How cliché," I comment as I force my hands out and one of my rings drives Seth into the blocks in the wall. "So where is it? Behind you, under the floor?" Seth falls out from the wall on all fours. "I wasn't even trying and that brought you down. How pathetic, Mia did a number on you," I snort, bringing my ring back to my arm. "This is the last time I'm asking politely, where's Mia?"

Seth clears his throat while using the wall to pick himself up. "Don't get cocky just because you can hit me. Besides, you were holding back."

"I'm trying to bring out the sensible Seth that stopped himself once before." The last time I talked to Seth, he almost killed Mia but he hesitated because part of him that was still Mia's friend was in there. But then I recall his insane outburst in his fight with Mia when she asked him if they were still friends. That Seth might not exist anymore. He grins widely while holding his sides.

"I remember that, I was so foolish, I couldn't have taken Mia's life in that state. I could barely hold my ground against you. Look at me Don," he's practically giddy with insanity. "That's not happening again."

"Fine, I'll beat it out of you then." My rings float off my arms and with my hands telepathically controlling them, they repeatedly strike him, tossing him from side to side. His laughter only fuels my endless assault as I slam him into more walls mercilessly. When the debris clears, he's lying on the floor, chuckling as blood seeps from his bandaged forehead. I stomp towards him, shove my foot in his chest, and bend down so that I'm inches away from his face. "Eyes as red as blood," chortles Seth with a huge grin. "You're only going to push Mia further away from you and into my arms."

"The last place she would be is in your embrace."

"You say that now but when she wakes up that'll be the only place she'll be in. You'll lose her forever." I punch him in the face, dislocating his jaw with a loud crack. He winces and tries adjusting his jaw. "What the hell are you talking about?"

* * *

Seth listens intently as I tell him about the huge fight we had and what I did to him. I eventually tell him about everything that happened after Moonlight Town disappeared. When I'm done he seems genuinely upset by it, "That's a terrible nightmare, no wonder you thought it was real. I'm sorry you had it." He hugs me tightly as children run past us playing tag. I wrap my arms around him, so relieved that all the pain and guilt that I had buried in my heart is erased by Seth's embrace. Finally I can be at peace with the right Seth. We pull away sheepishly, each of us looking everywhere but at each other. Seth breaks the awkward silence, "So do you want to head into town? There's a festival-hey, are you still shaken up about that nightmare?"

"Everything felt so real and true. I…just get the feeling it really did happen and that-" I hold myself back. Seth gently puts his hands on my arms, silently encouraging me to go on, "That this Moonlight Town isn't real and that I'm going to wake up to that nightmare."

"Do you see any black creatures here?" I wipe away the tear in my eye and shake my head. " See me holding a funny looking sword? Or the beach being destroyed?"

"No," I mutter hopefully.

"Then it was all a nightmare. Come on, let's go to the festival, I'll win you anything you want and we'll have kishow* until our stomachs can't handle anymore. That's okay with you?"

"Yeah." We head into town and seeing the islanders having fun and Seth acting the way he did when I first met him brings me out of my sour mood. He's right, everything was just a dream that felt too real, this is the real Moonlight Town. Seth hands me the plastic kélora fruit he just won from tossing three donuts onto a pole perfectly. He points to the kishow stand and together we wait as I hug the plushy. " 'Scuse me, trying to get through."

"Sorry," I step back to let the girl pass through the line. Oh my gosh! I get off the line and hold her arm. "Mizuki, what're you doing here?"

"Do I know you?" the Mizuki-look alike asks, snatching her hand back rudely. Wearing a flower patterned crop top and a black leather skirt, she looks at me up and down with hostility. "And don't grab me like that."

"You don't know me?"

"Sorry, I don't. I'm a tourist and the name's Crystal, not whatever you said."

"Sorry I bothered you." I turn around to rejoin Seth on-line. "I thought I saw someone I knew," I briefly explain and he nods understandingly. She could've been her clone, their mannerisms and faces are exactly the same. When we reach the front of the line, I'm too stunned to speak so Seth does for me, "Uh, two kishows please, here's five bucks," then he whispers to me, "Are you-"

"Risa is that you?" I lean forward to get a better look. The doppelgänger has the same sienna complexion as Risa, is wearing a long-sleeved silk dress to cover up every part of her body, and I can't see her face because of the slope of her huge sunhat. She bends down to grab two pre-made kishows, wraps them in plastic and exchanges them for the money. "Risa?"

"Are you talking to me?" she asks curiously in the same monotone voice Risa has.

"You don't know me either huh?"

"I am sorry, I do not." As we walk away, Seth gives me a confused look. "You're really confused about some people. Were they in your nightmare too?" I nod as I accept the kishow, tucking the plushy under my arm. "Sometimes you can dream of people you've seen once and make up a persona and stuff in your head. Let's head back to the beach where I can hear himself think."

"Okay." I rip off the plastic and then bite into the soft part of the kishow. The tangy taste of the fruit drips on my dress while I lick the juice off my lips. How long has it been since I could sit back and eat without having to worry about anyone trying to hurt me? When we reach Moonlight Beach Seth and I lay flat on our backs side by side, savoring each bite of the kishow. I put my plushy under my head and turn my body towards him, "I really thought that they were friends of mine. Don't worry, it was nothing."

"Good." With the soothing waves bringing both of us comfort, Seth falls asleep, looking like an angel at peace with everything in the world. I really do miss this Seth and I'm glad everything I went through is over. I let the waves crashing against the shore and the halcyon breeze lull me to sleep. The howling zephyrs wake me up and I sit up in a jolt when I feel ice-cold seawater underneath me. I notice Seth's no longer next to me so I get to my feet and stare at the dark sky with thick crimson blanketing it. "No, this can't be happening again. No way." When the tide comes in, I realize it's purple and murky, just like it was in my nightmare. "Seth! Seth!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I catch a glimpse of something orange floating in the water, my kélora plushy that Seth won for me. I attempt to head into the water but I hear a familiar voice from afar call for me.

"Mia, over here! Don't go in the water!"

"Seth!" I see him standing on the docks with hand outstretched towards me. I sprint to him, looking around for any sign of the Heartless. Not a single one has shown up, so what's happening? Seth was with me this whole day, he fell asleep next to me-unless he opened the door while I sleeping. I stop and hug the nearest palm tree to prevent myself from being blown around by the wind. "Seth did you open that black door?"

"What door?" I sigh out of relief, I know he's being honest. "You have to get up here!"

"Why did you leave me?"

"To go home and board up my house so that we can stay there. I'm sorry I left but I had to hurry, now come on you can let go of the palm tree!" insists Seth sincerely, stretching his hand out further. As I'm about to remove myself from the tree, another commanding voice brings me back to the tree. "Mia no! Over here!" I turn around to see Don with his hand out. "You can't go with Seth."

"What're you doing here?" he asks Don and then fervently shakes his head as he brings his attention back to me, "Mia, we have to leave now."

"Don? How did you-what-"

"There's no time, you have to trust me!" Just like in the dream when I was escaping the white room. He has the same pain stricken expression on his face from when I escaped the Professor's lair. The top part of the palm tree snaps off and both of them cry out my name in terror. I bend down, hugging the stump while the rest of the tree rolls off towards the water. "Mia you can't go with him, you have to come with me," persists Don.

"You shouldn't be here!" Seth comments begrudgingly. "Mia, we're running out of time, this place is going to get ripped to shreds. We'll be safe once we get to my place so let's go." Both of them care so much about me but _he _is the only one I can trust."I'm so sorry."

I pick myself up and dash for him, clutching his hand tightly.

J.G.P.


	2. Chapter 2

"'When she wakes up', what the hell are you talking about? I swear if you did anything to her," I pick Seth up by the arm and slam him into the crater I made. He hangs his head back, smiling satisfactorily as he begins to lose consciousness. I shake him awake brusquely, I refuse to give him the peace of sleep. "Answer me you prick."

"My friend is going to reset Mia's memories with her powers," he mutters as he tries to laugh.

"Why would you do that?" my grip on his arm tightens. "Why?"

"To hurt you who obviously cares for her and so that I have her back in my arms." I throw him on the ground, unable to hold back what I really want to say. He bounces a bit and then lays there limp, mumbling, "With her new memories she'll think I've come to save her and that you took her. Seeing me so hurt, she'll hate you." Gnashing my teeth and clenching my fists, I step forward angrily.

"I'm not going to let her suffer in your arms again. She's…she's carried all this pain within her for all these months at the expense of her happiness. I called her stupid and naïve when she handled her pain better than I did! And now you're going to hurt her again-I will beat you until you beg me to kill you." As I raise my hand and the rings come off my arm, a trapdoor to my right opens up and the girl named Xevia steps out, tugging Mia along behind her. Xevia gasps when she sees Seth and rushes to his aid, dropping the pallid Mia to the floor.

"Don?" Mia is barely audible. Her head is down as if she's too tired to support it, her emerald eyes no longer have a spark in them, and I can barely see the scratches and bruises she got from Seth's fight. The boy of Darkness gets to his feet using Xevia for support. "Seth…" mutters Mia feebly.

"Mia, I'm so relieved that you're okay," says Seth, disregarding Xevia and wobbling towards a lethargic Mia. "Don kidnapped you and had you locked down there, he almost killed me." Despite the blood running down his head and lips and his TMJ, he manages to get Mia to her feet.

"That's a lie, Mia it's-" he holds her in his arms, having me choke on the rest of my sentence. Something in my gut is constricting me, keeping me paralyzed. Why is my stomach lodged in my throat? "I'm sorry I took so long, you'll never leave my side ever again. I'll protect you with everything I've got," lies Seth reassuringly, hugging her tighter. He pulls back a little and Mia doesn't say a word. "I'm not letting you go," he adds and he pulls her in for a kiss as she stands there like a zombie. I open my mouth to protest but my mouth runs dry. Seeing Mia in Seth's arms makes me nauseous, I don't want her there. _  
_

"I've waited so long…for you to hold...me like this," Mia's feeble voice comes out. "I've been…waiting since…Moonlight Town was taken away...from us. I want nothing more than to go home with you."

"I'll bring you home, I promise," he falsely assures her. Damn it, do something already but what can I do? I've been given immortality, these power rings, and inhuman strength and speed yet I can't save the girl who's more important to me than anything. He leans in to kiss her again but she doesn't move. "I was going to let myself fall into your arms Seth," continues Mia, turning to me. "But Don stopped me from running off with you."

"That's ridiculous, Don never lived on the island," snorts Seth.

"He was there and he saved me. You were going to force me to believe that all…all the pain I suffered wasn't real. I couldn't let you do that to me."

* * *

I'm knocked into the wall suddenly, too weak to get back up and fight him. "You're a real idiot aren't you? I can't believe you, I really can't-well you're weak right now so there's no way you're fighting back." Slumping against the wall for support, I raise my hands to block whatever's coming. A huge ball of violet Darkness amasses in his palm and he throws it at me without a care for my wellbeing. Now that's the Seth I know. I close eyes and anticipate the pain but it doesn't come. When I open my eyes, I can utter only one word, "Don?"

"Hey," he coolly greets as he gives Seth his back. He must have blocked Seth's attack. "I'm glad to see you're okay." Over Don's shoulder, I see Seth swing his hand again and another huge sphere crashes into Don. When the black smoke clears, Don has his hands against the wall, leaning over me. "I swore that if he hurt you I was going to beat him senseless, but-" he jolts in response to another blast "-I won't attack unless you're okay with it."

"Don't get yourself hurt because of me!" My strength is making a slow return and I can hear it in my voice. More spheres hit Don and he jolts again and again-I wince, petrified as I'm powerless to help him. He looks at me and smirks as another sphere lands in his back. "I'm immortal remember? This is nothing to me," reassures Don, reading my pained expression while taking another blast. If only I could stand and fight then Don wouldn't have to suffer like this, I guess there's no choice.

"Don, please don't kill him." He grins, turns around, and takes another sphere head on. I see him lunging at Seth, knocking him around with his rings. I don't know how Don did it, but he broke through the dream and stopped me from doing something stupid. The moment I grabbed Don's hand during the storm I woke up in the cell, if it wasn't for him I would have my pleasant, but false memories of Seth. The ruckus dies down and across from me is Seth, totally unconscious with Don standing over him. Xevia runs to Seth, frantically shouting his name and shaking him. Don turns to me and brings me to my feet.

"Do you remember how you got in here?" when I nod he continues, "Good. If you can walk, find the exit and call me. I just have to make sure of something." I try running but I nearly trip and lean against the wall to stop myself from falling. As I hurry along the wall, I can feel my legs turning into feeble branches. An arched opening to the blue sky blows a breeze at me, causing me to fall on my throbbing knees. This must be the way out, Don and I could slide down and land on the ledge out there. "Don, down here." He probably doesn't hear me with my voice shaky like this. I force myself to stand up and I shout his name at the top of my lungs. My heart ferociously pounds, I feel as though it's going to fall from my chest the longer I look at how far the ledge is. I have to calm down or else I'll lose my balance and fall, stop looking down, stop it. Too late.

I drop over the edge just as I hear Don call my name. I shut my eyes and scream, unable to grab the ledge in time. My stomach flips around and I'm beginning to lose consciousness. When Korbin almost killed me almost ten years ago, I was falling for a little while and I cried and sobbed without end. So now that I'm falling and I'm going to die, it's okay for me to cry. The tears blow upward as I continue to plummet to the underbelly of the fortress; something grabs a hold of my ankle and yanks me up. Someone holds me in their arms and their encouraging, firm voice makes my heart speed up a little faster, "I won't let you go no matter what." Don's tight embrace calms me down and stops my tears from flowing. Something about Don makes me feel fearless. When Seth was holding me I knew Don would save me just like when he helped me escape from T.A.N.K. I guess with him here, even if he won't die, I can face death without any doubts.

Am I dead? My gut's telling me that I'm not, but what is this place? I pat myself up and down, wondering how I'm not seriously injured from the fall. As my vision comes into focus, I spot Don lying next to me in this raven abyss. "Don!" I pick myself up and run towards him, getting on my knees and shaking him worriedly. "Don, Don, don't die! Please don't leave me," I fall and clutch his T-shirt, tears cascading on it. "Don't die!" Then I suddenly remember what he told me before,_ "…if I get hurt too badly, instead of dying I fall asleep for a while. If it's not that bad I might sleep for an hour or two but if it's really bad I can be asleep for a long time."_A sick feeling swims in my stomach, making me sob and wail uncontrollably on top of him. "Please wake up, pleasepleaseplease!"

"I'm sorry Mia," a familiar voice says. I raise my head and turn around. I reach for my bo staff and protectively stand in front of Don. "You can't kill something that's already dead. Look at me Mia." After wiping my tears with my free hand I scrutinize Seth closely, noticing that he is radiating white light and looks transparent. "Another Seth?" I drop my staff as he moves closer to me. "Are you the Seth from that dream? No, your hair is darker." He looks at his see-through arms and legs and then lowers his head with melancholy.

"I'm the sane part of Seth's heart that he casted away, the Seth before-everything went wrong. There are no words that can undo the damage I've done to you...and him...I did my best to hold Seth back from hurting you. All I wanted was the power to keep you safe but Korbin manipulated me and turned my desire to protect you into a desire for power. I thought...that I would always be able to stop myself from hurting you but here I am, a piece of Seth's heart fading away in the trenches of this fortress. This place is a graveyard for rejected pieces of hearts," says Seth with a weak chuckle. "Korbin casted part of himself here too, as well as other people of Darkness but that's not the point. I just want," he's about to touch my face but stops himself out of guilt and lets his hand drop to his side. "I want you to be here with me forever but you wouldn't want that. You want Don to wake up right?" he asks pessimistically, his face waiting for me to say, "No, I want you and only you." To his disappointment, I nod while looking at Don sleeping tranquilly. "If I save him and bring you guys back to his world, then there won't be anything holding me back," choked Seth._ "Mia, don't let me kill you."_

I nod while wiping the mucus and tears from my face. He steps to the other side of Don, putting his hands through his chest. "Thank you," I tearfully whisper, crying less than before. Seth begins to shine brighter as he looks at me and smiles that sweet smile that I missed. "He gave himself up so you could live," Seth tells me as his eyes close. "He's a good guy, I spoke to him once and I could tell he was carrying some pain. I guess even though he's immortal, he's a little human too." Piece by piece as if there's a breeze blowing from beneath him, Seth starts disappearing. "Stop crying Mia," he leniently commands, "I want you to be happy again so stop being sad." The black void fills with luminous cyan and glistening white light swirling together, almost blinding me. I shield myself from the light and when it dies down, I lower my hands and realize we're on the path towards the house I've been staying at.

"Thank you Seth...Don!" I shake his limp body frantically. "Are you awake now, please answer me." When I don't hear anything but the birds' songs, I drop my head to his chest. Did Seth really bring him back to life or did he lie to me like he usually does? Don's soft groan clears my doubts and his chest is moving again. I raise my head while intently staring at Don's face. His eyes flutter open and he yawns while stretching his arms out. When his eyes meet mine, he sits up quickly, clutching my shoulders tenderly. "Are you okay, what's the matter?" I throw my arms around him and let myself cry on his shoulder. He must be surprised, I would be if he did the same. He eventually gets his other arm around me awkwardly while he says in realization, "I fell asleep, I'm sorry I put you through that."

"I'm so happy it was only a nap," I pull back, tears still streaming down my face. "I'm so happy." I laugh while sniveling and my grin takes him aback. "I'm just really happy."

J.G.P.

** My little cuties are alive, yay! How about that for a cheesy love story?**


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